Gwent news

Report this comment

"

Katie Re-Registered wrote:
They should never have been sent there in the first place. What a terrible waste of time, money and above all precious irreplacable lives. And we have no physical evidence that Bin Laden was found and brought to justice after all. When the USA claimed to have cornered and killed him they said that they got rid of the body immediately and didn't allow anyone to see it because it might offend people. So what evidence do we have to prove that they didn't actually find him and that all this was a made up 'excuse' so as not to lose face and to cover up the fact that coalition forces have had to retreat from Afghanistan, like the 20th century Soviets and 19th Century Brits before them? History shows that unless you're Alexander the Great Afghanistan is an impossible place to conquer militarily. The fact that our leaders' egos are so irrationally inflated that they see themselves as equal as military strategists to Alexander the Great shows just how deluded and therefore unfit for public office they are.

Hang on, Alexander went in search of all out conquest, spreading his ideals at the point of a sword, he only went to “Afghanistan” because of his unhealthy obsession with killing Darius and then Bessus for claiming his kill right. NATO are there to stamp out religious extremism which leads to terrorism. It’s not a goal of conquest. Bin Laden was not a modern day Darius or Bessus, he was just a cowardly terrorist. We can't allow people accused of adultery to be stoned in public by the Taliban, it's just barbaric and resembles the punishments Alexander meted out to his Generals when they disobeyed him. You have to understand that members of the Armed Forces consciously decide to sign up for active service. We don't have conscription in this country (unlike Alexander who forced thousands of conquered Persians to serve in his army or face decapitation). Forcing soldiers to come home because you decree that it is too dangerous or a waste of time undermines the hard work they carry out on deployment, especially with respect to improving the lives of local people and sparing them from religious dictatorship. Also, it’s downright rude. Professional soldiers decide to sign up, they understand the risks, it’s their job and they want to be there. They can think for themselves and don’t need liberal pacifists sounding off every 5 minutes, telling them to come home because it’s too dangerous for a trained professional soldier to be out there. You are not an expert in this area."

* Your nameThis field is mandatory

* Your emailThis field is mandatory

Reason

Please note we will not accept reports with HTML tags or URLs in them.

Enter the above word in the box below

Newport MP Paul Flynn wants debate on Afghanistan troops’ pull out

DEBATE CALL: MP Paul Flynn is calling for a vote in parliament on whether Britian should pull out of Afghanistan

A GWENT MP is calling for a vote in Parliament on whether Britain should pull out of Afghanistan.

UK troops are currently planned to withdraw from Afghanistan by 2014, the same year as US combat forces, but Paul Flynn says they should come home sooner, and as quickly as possible.

The Newport West MP has written to the House of Commons’ backbench business committee, calling for a full-day debate, and says he has already won the backing of five MPs.

The news comes after the death of 27-year-old serviceman Cpl Michael John Thacker, formerly of Cwmbran, earlier this month, and the death of Newport’s Sapper Connor Ray, 21, in April.

Mr Flynn said that three servicemen from Wales had died in the last few months.

“There are others who come home broken in body and in mind as a result of their experience there,” said the MP.

“I think it’s wrong to risk anyone’s life for a day longer than is absolutely necessary.

“We should reflect the view, the very powerful view across the country, that the UK should act like an independent state and withdraw our troops like the Netherlands and Canada have done, rather
than be tied to decisions in America,” he added.

The MP, who has campaigned against the Afghanistan war for many years, wants to see a vote on the independent withdrawal of all British combat troops to reflect “the overwhelming wishes of the
public”.

Mr Flynn said around 70 to 80 per cent of the public are in support of withdrawing from Afghanistan as soon as possible, and that the issue had led to the election of George Galloway in Bradford.
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, RESPECT MP Mr Galloway, Labour MP Ronnie Campbell, Tory MP John Baron and Liberal Democrat parliamentarian John Hemming are said to have given their backing to the
call for a debate.